Report: Banning Jewish student 'not motivated by anti-Semitism'

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) on Tuesday responded to a report released by McGill University regarding the October vote at the Fall General Assembly of the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU).

An investigation into the vote was carried out by Professor Spencer Boudreau, who – according to a statement released by the university’s principal and vice-chancellor, Suzanne Fortier – concluded that the “evidence did not substantiate the notion that the vote was motivated by anti-Semitism.” Fortier stated that Boudreau did, however, determine that “two candidates were not ratified because of their stances on the Israeli-Palestinian situation.”

“The thin veil of anti-Zionism should not be allowed to mask the anti-Semitism at the core of the voting. While the university’s principal has committed to countering anti-Semitism on campus and we welcome her ongoing efforts through a task force to create a climate of respect, this report may well serve to deepen the divisive and poisoned atmosphere on campus – where anti-Semtism is interwoven into anti-Israel campaigns.”

Since the October vote, the decision to divide the slate which allowed the vote against the three candidates was overturned as unconstitutional and all three students’ nominations were ratified by a vote of the student body.